Sleepy Kenilworth is being put on the business map with the town's first business exhibition set for later this summer.

The event, which is due to take place at the St Francis of Assisi Hall, will showcase what the 600 companies in the town can offer.

The oldest working Daimler bus will be on hand to transport people around when the event happens on September 14.

Kenilworth Chamber of Trade has organised the exhibition to coincide with major investments going on there, including the establishment of the first Waitrose store in Warwickshire.

Charles Smith, chairman of the chamber's business development group, helped launch the event yesterday.

"When I joined the chamber two years ago there just six members, but it has grown and grown," said Mr Smith, who is also the managing partner of property consultancy Boston Fieldgate.

"Now we have 120 members and we want to show people in the town and outside the businesses and services our companies can offer.

"We have got a broad range of retailers, professional services, property and marketing companies here, as well as printers, health and fitness firms.

"There was a perception that Kenilworth was a sleepy dormitory down, with good restaurants and not a lot else.

"But we want people to wake up to the fact there is a lot more than that."

Mr Smith said the show was heading towards a sell-out with 25 of the 27 stands already sold .

The show comes as around £30 million is being spent on various projects in the town, including the upgrade of Talisman Square which will see new flats and shops, and the refurbishment of the Kings Arms pub, where Sir Walter Scott wrote the novel Kenilworth. Just outside Kenilworth there are plans for a £100 million investment by design engineering firm Prodrive to produce a centre of excellence, while the University of Warwick also has ambitious expansion designs.

Sue Powell, chairman of the chamber, said: "These exciting and deliverable initiatives provide a significant opportunity for the town.

"The business exhibition idea has been developed to ensure that the town's businesses promote themselves successfully and become the suppliers of choice to those in the town and close by."